


Something so magic about you

by citizen101erased



Series: pff bingo 2019 [5]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Arthurian, Body Swap, Dragons, Fantastical beasts, Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Original Characters - Freeform, Pining, Slow Burn, Witches, it's dan he swears a lot, magic quest, mentions of adrian, rated teen and up for swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 09:43:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21013715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citizen101erased/pseuds/citizen101erased
Summary: Prince Daniel and his servant Phil wake up one morning - in each other’s bodies. They’ve been cursed, and now have to go on an epic quest involving dragons and lost crowns to be restored to their own bodies. But will they make it? And will they still be the same afterwards?Written for the Phandom Fic Fest Bingo 2019. Prompts: Magic AU & Body Swap





	Something so magic about you

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd write a 'quick fun fantasy story about a magical quest!', so consider this a warning to everyone: turns out there is no such thing as a 'quick magical quest'. In other news, this story ended up WAY longer than I'd planned. Doesn't matter though, I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you'll all have a lot of fun reading it, too!
> 
> Thanks to [obsessivelymoody](https://obsessivelymoody.tumblr.com) for betaing and cheerleading!

Agnes felt a whiplash-induced headache coming on as she watched the two young men banter back and forth. 

She’s been watching them for a while now - three months, 4 days and 22 hours to be precise. And honestly, she’s quite proud of the fact that she hasn’t done anything to shut them up all this time. 

Daniel and Philip. They are infamous at court. The prince and his manservant. Honoured, high-ranked (or at least one of them is, which means by extension the other is, too), and frustrating to everyone who’s ever had to stay in a 10-foot-radius of them for longer than one minute. 

They were just so obviously disgustingly in love with each other, yet to everyone’s best knowledge—best not to pry when it’s about the prince—they haven’t done anything about this yet. Agnes would be tempted to joke about how it’s ‘so frustrating it’ll make you pull your hair out’ if it wasn’t for the fact that she actually knows a couple of people who have done so, including His Royal Majesty the King himself. 

For Agnes, being the court witch, this was doubly frustrating, because it meant that all the people both literally and figuratively pulling their hair out and screaming came to her for potions to calm down, including, again, His Royal Majesty the King himself. 

“Agnes, can you please do something about my son. Anything. Just to make sure this situation stops.” He had begged her one evening. 

Time to do something about it, she figures. At least she can’t be prosecuted and burned at the stake if it’s a royal order. Or so she hopes. 

So she stands up, wipes the creases from her dress, and gets to work. 

Three days later, she watches expectantly as Dan and Phil share a bottle of wine over dinner. It’s unheard of, usually, for a prince and a servant to share a bottle of wine, but then again, it’s also unheard of for a prince and a servant to be so in love with each other to begin with. 

They laugh at some dumb inside joke she’s glad she can’t hear from this distance, before they both faint. 

\---

Dan wakes up slowly in a very uncomfortable bed. He feels a bit strange. Must’ve been that wine last night, it did have a funny taste to it. He’s going to have to talk to the kitchen staff about that, see to it that they do import the _ good _ wine again. 

He opens his eyes to find his vision is still a bit blurry. That wine really must’ve done a number on him. So he rubs his eyes, blinks a couple of times. 

Still blurry. 

That’s odd. 

Then he looks at his hands. They’re much paler than usual, more of a milky-white than his usual slightly tanned skin. There are more freckles on his arms than there are supposed to be, too. 

Suddenly there’s a loud scream coming from somewhere in the same room. Dan looks up to see himself, in his own bed, staring back at him from a distance.

As realization dawns on him, he does the only reasonable thing he can think of: he screams as well. 

\---

“Explain,” Dan says, wincing as he hears Phil’s voice coming out of his mouth. 

He shuffles a little bit in his chair - Phil’s body is not used to the more lavish throne, nor to the much more lavish clothing he’s wearing, and he can’t quite figure out how to sit comfortably. Next to him, Phil looks equally uncomfortable in Dan’s body. The hard wooden chair probably hurts. Dan tries not to think about that too much. 

Agnes, the court witch, calmly clasps her hands in front of her as she looks at him - the real him, not Phil in his body. 

“It would seem your bodies have been swapped, your Highness.” Her voice is carefully void of any emotion. 

“I get that!” Dan exclaims. “What I don’t get is how, or why!” 

“Well,” she says, lifting up a hand to casually inspect her fingernails. “I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if someone claims this action, or offers an explanation. I’m sure something will come up soon. Magic like this doesn’t just happen out of nowhere.” 

“Are you really suggesting we just wait?” He snaps the last word harder than he intends. Then again, Dan figures he can’t really be blamed for snapping right now, considering the unfortunate situation. 

“I suppose I am,” she drawls, before glancing up at him and quickly adding, “Your Highness.” 

“Then I suppose,” he says as slowly and threateningly as he can, “that you start looking for a solution as quickly as you can, or there will be consequences. Now leave us. We have other businesses to attend to.” 

There’s the hint of a smirk on her face as she says “yes, I’m sure you do,” before curtseying and taking her leave. 

\---

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for an answer to show up. They have indeed been cursed, and there is indeed a way to break the curse. 

Although, Dan is not happy about the solution. 

“A quest?” Phil squeaks. “Us? Go on a quest? That doesn’t seem like a wise idea.” 

“No, it’s not,” Dan agrees. “Besides, if they wanted to have us killed, I’m sure there are easier ways to get that done. This seems rather elaborate.” 

The King clears his throat. “Perhaps, there is a lesson to be found in all of this.” 

“Yes, the lesson is that we will die,” Dan says, rolling his eyes. 

The King unrolls the parchment with a pointed Look at Dan before he starts to read. 

“Daniel and Philip, you have been cursed. Your bodies are switched, and will remain switched for as long as you do not finish the Quest I set upon thee. The Quest is as follows: you shall travel north to the Kingdom of Prince James. In this Kingdom you must find the Hidden Tower, in which the Lost Crown is guarded by a fearsome dragon. The Lost Crown belongs to Prince James, but has been lost for five generations. Many a knight has gone to seek it, but has perished along the way. However, to lift the curse you must find it. Bring it where it belongs, and you shall be free. If you do not find it, you shall be doomed to stay forever in each other’s bodies.” 

The silence in the room after the King finishes is almost deafening. Dan gulps, afraid to say what everyone is thinking. 

There is no way they will survive this. 

\---

After Dan and Phil leave the room, still stumbling slightly as they try (and fail) not to bump into anything with these strange bodies, the King addresses the Court Witch. 

“Agnes.” 

“Yes, my Lord?” she curtseys. 

“Please make sure they will be alright. Help them out a bit. And keep me up to date.”

“Understood, your Highness.” She bows, and leaves the throne room, her red dress trailing behind her. 

\---

“There is no way we’ll survive this,” Dan says to Phil as they wait at the stables for their horses. Supplies have been packed for them, together with a map that shows the places where the Hidden Tower is probably not, leaving a disturbing amount of places where it might actually be. They’re both carrying a sword and a knife, even though everyone in the castle knows neither of them can be trusted with sharp objects. 

And so they leave. Off on an epic quest. This was not something Dan had ever hoped to do. In fact, he’d rather tried to avoid it all his life. He knows a proper prince is supposed to go on a quest at some point to prove he’s worthy of the crown, but he also knows how many princes have not made it to the end. 

Besides, it sounds like an awful lot of effort to go through to prove he’s worthy of something he is born into and has no choice over. The whole system seems to Dan to be incredibly unfair, but alas. 

The first couple of days nothing interesting happens. They’re still well within the reach of the castle, and should anything bad happen here, they can just turn around and try again another time. Sure, he’d be the laughing stock of the castle, but there’s nothing new there. Especially not since that time he walked into a pillar in front of the Lothian delegation. 

Then they reach the maze. 

Dan doesn’t know why this maze is here, or who made it, or who keeps it all tidy and neat. Or if anyone does at all, for that matter. All he knows is that to go north, you either travel around it and add another full month to your journey, or you take your chances and go through the maze. It’s a shortcut, albeit an incredibly dangerous one. 

But Dan would like to be back at the castle and back at his regular life as quickly as possible, please and thank you, so the maze it is. 

“Do we even know what’s in there?” Phil asks. 

“Oh, you know,” Dan says as casually as he can, which means he’s not at all casual about this. “The usual. Snakes. Spiders. Smugglers. A manticore or two. Some packs of wilddeoren.”

“What’s a wilddeoren?” Phil asks. He’s pretty sure he’s never heard of those before. 

“They’re like giant,” Dan spreads his arms as wide as he can, “baby rats.” And he brings his arms in front of his chest. 

“Oh, that’s alright then,” Phil smiles in relief. “It’ll be like seeing more of you.” 

“Hey!” Dan swats at Phil’s hand. “Anyway, wilddeoren eat people.”

“You know, a month extra on the road might not be so bad,” Phil says, already turning his horse away from the maze. 

“There are no inns but a lot of smugglers and highwaymen that way. A whole month’s worth of constant danger, except this time from other people.” 

Phil sighs. The maze really is, annoyingly, the better option. 

“Well, here goes nothing then.” 

“As long as we stick together, watch each other’s backs, we’ll hopefully be fine,” Dan says. 

“You’re stuck with me, Dan. Always,” Phil says without any malice. He smiles at Dan, who smiles back. 

\--- 

They’re several hours into the maze when they spot their first pack of wilddeoren. They’re still at the end of the path, so Dan and Phil can quickly slip around a corner and hope they’re not seen. 

Unfortunately, that brings them right on the path of the biggest spider they’ve ever seen. Dan screams in a way his father would most definitely deem ‘un-princelike’, but luckily his father is in a castle several days’ riding away. 

He turns his horse around as quickly as he can, and goes back around the same corner, because Dan is much more willing to deal with a pack of ravenous man-eating wilddeoren than one giant spider that might not be interested in humans. Luckily, Phil gets the hint and follows without asking. Dan isn’t sure he’s capable of speaking right now. 

Thankfully, the pack of wilddeoren seems to have moved on. Instead, there’s just a red bird hopping over the path, looking for food. 

Dan and Phil keep riding for a while longer until Dan’s secure enough in the distance between them and the spider. 

“I am regretting everything right now,” he says as he clutches his chest. 

“I regret accepting this job,” Phil says. 

“I regret hiring you.” 

“You didn’t hire me. Your father did.” 

“Well then I regret being born.” 

“Wouldn’t have met me if you were never born, though.” 

“Mate, right now? I don’t care.” They both know that’s a blatant lie. 

Phil clears his throat. “Should we take a short break?” he asks. 

“Nah,” Dan says. “As much as I’d love a moment for us and our horses to catch a breath, I’d much rather be out of this maze before the darkness sets in. We got incredibly lucky there just now, so let’s just keep going and hope the luck keeps on going too, alright?” 

It almost works. They ride on, and the exit is in sight, but before they get to leave the maze, they have to cross a small bridge. 

And that bridge, as it turns out, has a boggart. 

“Well, shit,” Dan says as a small, old, uncouth-looking man suddenly appears in the middle of the bridge. There’s no way around him - the hedges of the maze close on the edge of the bridge. They can’t look for another route because it’s getting dark and finding another exit would just take too long. 

“What do we do?” Phil whispers to Dan. 

“I don’t know. Boggarts are notoriously annoying.” 

“What do you usually do when someone or something is annoying?” 

Dan thinks about it for a moment. What does he do? He’s a prince, people are probably legally not allowed to annoy him. Which is not to say it never happened. There was that one servant a couple of years back who annoyed him, but that was more because that specific servant was so overzealous in his cleaning he kept misplacing Dan’s belongings. He still hasn’t found some of his jewelry, though he’s starting to suspect some of those rings have made that servant very wealthy despite the lack of a job. 

“Usually they’re castle staff, and I just have them reassigned or fired,” Dan says, already feeling Phil’s judging look burning on his skin. 

“Well what do you do then?” he says in exasperation. 

Phil shrugs. “I annoy them right back until they either leave or change their behaviour.” 

“Does that work?” 

“Worked on you,” he smirks at Dan, who just rolls his eyes in response. 

“What if we try to just go past it, greet him politely, see if he’ll let us pass?” Phil says suddenly. “I vaguely remember being told a story of how that’s supposed to work, that they’ll let you pass if you just greet them.”

Dan side-eyes him. “That sounds incredibly fake. Are you messing with me?” 

Phil gasps, putting a hand on his chest. “I would never!”

Dan sighs, looking back at the boggart. 

“Right. Well, how about you put on your politest voice and go first?”

“Wait, hang on,” Phil’s voice squeaks up suddenly. “Why do I have to go first?” 

“Because I’m the prince and I say so. Also because you came up with the idea and if it doesn’t work I don’t want to be the victim of that.” 

“So you’re just sacrificing me?” 

“I prefer saying you’re a martyr for the crown.” 

Phil is silent for a moment, apparently considering what to do. Eventually, he turns to Dan, and gives him a soft smile. It’s still disconcerting to see Phil’s expression on his own face. Dan’s not sure if he’ll ever get used to this. He hopes they’ll be turned back before that happens. 

He tries not to think about what happens if one of them dies while they’re still switched. 

“If I die, please make sure everyone knows what a good martyr I was for serving you all this time,” Phil says, and then he takes off before Dan can say anything back. 

Dan watches Phil ride up to the boggart. He’s feigning confidence, but he can tell from how straight he’s sitting on his horse that he’s nervous and tense. 

“Top of the morning to you, good sir!” 

Dan groans. 

“I was wondering if perhaps you’d be so kind as to let us both pass through! We’re just on our merry way through the country, see. Lovely bridge you’ve got here! I would love to be allowed to try it out!” 

The boggart just stands there, smirking, while Phil keeps prattling on. He’s almost reached the boggart now. 

And then the unthinkable happens. The boggart moves aside courteously, bowing slightly as he lets Phil pass. Dan sighs in relief as he watches Phil reach the other side. 

He urges his own horse forward too, fully intending to join Phil without losing any more time. 

But the boggart has moved back to the middle of the bridge, and has now crossed his arms as he smirks and waits for Dan. 

Dan hesitates at the beginning of the bridge. “Uh, hi?” he says as eloquently as ever. The boggart doesn’t move. 

Dan goes forward slowly. “Hello, pardon me, I’d just like to, uh. Appreciate your bridge, too. If that’s alright? It’s a very lovely bridge, indeed. Beautiful wood. I like the dark colour. Um. Oh dear.” 

He’s reached the boggart, and unlike with Phil, this time he’s not stepping aside. Dan throws a panicked look at Phil, who is looking at him with worry written all over his face. Then Phil mimes drinking something. 

“Ah! Yes, good sir, pleasant evening, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you like some milk to enjoy that evening with? I hear you boggarts like milk. Enjoy, uh. Souring it. Perchance?” 

The boggart cocks its head to the side. “I like milk,” it croaks in a raspy voice that sends shivers right down through Dan’s bones. 

“Right! Milk it is then! How about you let me go over to my friend there, so I can also get you a cup to drink from, is that alright?” 

“No. Just milk.” 

Dan stills. To be able to reach the milk he’d have to get off his horse. But he’s afraid that setting foot on the bridge or coming closer to the boggart might mean he’s stuck here somehow. He’s not sure how reasonable that fear is, but it’s there anyway. 

He tries turning around in his saddle, to reach the milk by just twisting his spine, but apparently years of lounging on hard wooden benches in terrible postures has not done him any favours. Figure that. 

He takes a deep breath, and decides, _ sod it. _ He’s going to have to set actual foot on the bridge. 

Grumbling, he swings a leg over, and slowly, very carefully, lets himself down both literally and figuratively. He stops for a minute when he feels the wood of the bridge, all solid and reassuring beneath his feet, just to see if anything happens. 

When he doesn’t spontaneously combust or gets dragged into the water by evil boggarts, he sighs in relief again, before taking the bottle of milk and just setting the whole bottle down on the wood. 

The boggart just keeps still and watches him. 

“I’ll just leave this here, if that’s alright with you?” 

There’s a tense moment in which it seems like the whole world is holding its breath, until the boggart nods and all sound comes rushing back. Dan quickly climbs back on his horse, and the boggart moves aside, letting Dan pass on his way to Phil. 

When he reaches the end of the bridge, he doesn’t turn to look around, but instead ushers his horse into a run and leaves the maze as quickly as he can. 

\-- 

Thankfully, the next couple of days until they reach the border of the kingdom are relatively uneventful. They almost get lost once or twice, although they manage to make it back to the road in the end. They have to make camp in the woods several times, much to Dan’s distress. 

(“Why are you afraid of trees? They can’t even move.” Phil asked. 

“That’s what they want you to think. You can’t trust them, Phil.”) 

Crossing the border looks to be deceptively simple. There’s a dotted line on their map cutting through a valley. All they have to do is go through the valley and go up the mountains on the other side, and just like that they should be in the next kingdom. 

After four days, they come out of the other side of the valley looking like they took some detours through several particularly nasty pig stys.

“I thought you said this would be one of the easier parts of the journey,” Phil says as they’re standing in a river. He’s been trying to get the dried mud from Dan’s hair, but the curls are making it hard. 

Dan had a much easier time getting Phil’s thinner and smoother hair cleaned. His pale skin has already reappeared, and he’s currently scrubbing his tunic with a rock. 

“No one warned me about all these muddy ditches, Phil. I guess they just assumed, like I did, that most people wouldn’t just fall into them. Because _ most people _ have an actual sense of balance, you know. How you even manage to stay upright in this body most of the time is a bloody mystery to me.” 

“It’s one of my many skills,” Phil says, smirking. 

Dan snorts. “I have yet to see any skills at all.” 

“Oi!” Phil says, laughing and splashing some water at Dan, who sputters before throwing his tunic down on the banks of the river and throwing himself at Phil. 

They both go underwater with the force of Dan’s impact, and just like that, a proper water fight begins. 

Afterward, they both lie on the river banks in their chemises, still panting from the exertion. The river babbles on, and there’s the sound of a bird singing close by, but it’s otherwise quiet. (For a second, Dan could swear he heard a scream in the distance that gets cut off suspiciously quickly. But since there’s nothing else after that, he shrugs it off.)

Dan can feel his entire being calm down, peaceful in a way he hasn’t felt since his childhood. 

He turns his head towards Phil, who is basking in the sunlight with his eyes closed. It’s still weird to look at his own body, to be inside Phil’s instead. But he also can’t deny that when he looks at Phil, he sees _ Phil _ instead of himself. There’s something about the way he carries his body, about the look in his eyes, that’s so undefinably and undeniably Phil. 

Dan thinks about how lucky he is to have met Phil. It really had been sheer dumb luck. Phil had been a medical apprentice in his hometown, focusing on animals in particular but mostly dealing with sick humans. The local doctor had been one of the last places he’d been able to get an apprenticeship, after a lot of pestering by his parents. Phil hadn’t felt like doing it, it didn’t suit him and he was much too worried about accidentally hurting people instead, but he didn’t want to disappoint his parents. 

Unfortunately, the very first time he had to do some bloodletting to help fix a patient’s fever, he’d fainted. So he decided to take his chances in a different city instead, and had come to the capital. 

Here, he’d just been considering to spend his last coins on some strawberries at the market, when there was suddenly some shouting. Someone had come running past him, followed by someone who looked very scary and dangerous. In the distance, Phil could see a huddle of knights trying to follow, but the streets were too crowded, and their armour and capes too clunky.

Phil had, in his moment of fright, tripped and fallen into the fruit stand. This had caused the basket of apples to topple over, which in turn caused the attacker to trip. Phil had gathered just enough of his wits to grab the wooden bowl of strawberries and hit the man over the head with it. 

As it turned out, the scary man had been an assassin, sent to kill Prince Daniel. Said Prince Daniel was grateful to have been saved, and Phil had been invited to come to the castle to celebrate his heroic act. 

The dinner at the castle was amazing. Phil had never seen so many meats together, although he did notice both princes, Daniel and Adrian, had barely eaten any of the meats, preferring instead to laden their plates with vegetables and fruit.

After the meal, the King had stood up to give a speech in Phil’s honour. Then suddenly, without any warning, he said the words that would change both Dan and Phil’s lives forever: 

“Philip Lester. I am forever grateful to you for saving the life of my son, the crown prince. I understand you do not, at this moment, have a job, as you have come to this city in search of a new life. Well, let me offer you a new life! I hereby declare you personal servant to the crown prince!” 

As everyone cheered around them, Dan had sat in stunned silence as he stared at Phil, who had done the same. 

And now here they are, lying in the sun, side by side in a different country. Phil has become Dan’s best friend, his actual soulmate. No matter what happens, he knows they will always stick together. 

No one ever has to know about Dan’s real feelings. It would never happen anyway. 

\--- 

According to the map, the tower is not on the road to the right, nor on the road in the middle. This leaves two options: the road to the left, and the strange little path Dan had accidentally come across when he went to relieve himself the next morning. 

They look at the map, then at each other, then shrug. 

The path is dark, and scary, and Dan and Phil stick as close together as they can while they slowly cut their way through the thick bushes. It takes hours to get through, and it’s almost as if the plants grow right back behind them, masking the path they just came from. 

Just when their knives are about to become too blunt to work with, the darkness suddenly falls away to reveal a large open space. The sun is reflected on the surface of a lake. There’s a large tower next to it, with a flock of red birds circling over it. 

“This is definitely some kind of cursed, magical space. Do we really have to go in here?” 

“There’s a tower right there, odds are that’s the exact tower we’re looking for.” 

“It better be.” 

Phil frowns. “Hey, weird question. Doesn’t this feel almost too easy to you? Like, what have we even really been through. A boggart and some mud? And now we just happen to stumble upon the tower that for years trained knights couldn’t find?” 

Dan thinks about this. Had it really been too easy? True, most quests involved multiple life-threatening situations while they had so far been through, well. None. But then again, they didn’t know if this was the right tower, or if there’s really a dangerous dragon in there.

He shrugs. “Does it really matter if it’s too easy? I kind of like it, to be honest. We finish this quest, go home, and have just enough stories to exaggerate to make people believe we went through a horrible time but made it through bravely. Sounds like a good deal to me.” 

Phil laughs at this, as he shoves against Dan’s shoulder. “You’re a horrible boy.” 

Dan grins back at him. “Right back at ya, mate. How you managed to survive for so long as a servant is beyond my understanding.” 

“I told you, it’s my charm.” Phil sticks his tongue out as he giggles. 

Dan just rolls his eyes. “Yes, incredibly charming as always. Come on, charmer boy, let’s go find this crown and the dragon.” 

\---

The tower is bigger than it seemed at first. They’ve tied their horses to a tree at the edge of the forest, and made the last bit of distance on foot as the tower now loomed over them. 

There are doors so big Dan is sure they’re not made by regular men, and he is grateful that they’re open as there’s no way they would’ve gotten them open otherwise. The entrance hallway is like a cavern, and their footsteps echo through it as they walk in, holding their swords in front of them. There are dusty statues of knights scattered throughout the room, but it’s otherwise empty of any furniture. A massive, stone staircase winds up slowly towards the ceiling in the back of the room. 

Normally, Dan would appreciate the minimalist decoration, but something about this space just makes shivers run up his spine instead. 

They go through the entire ground floor as quickly and quietly as they can, before slowly making their way up the stairs. 

Going up is hard. The steps are so big they quite literally have to climb up, and by the time they reach the first floor they have to catch their breath before they can continue. 

This floor is split up in different rooms, all of them big and also strangely empty. 

“We should split up,” Phil whispers. 

“What? No!” Dan exclaims, very loudly. Phil quickly clamps a hand over his mouth. 

“Be quiet!” he whispers harshly, slowly taking his hand away from Dan’s mouth. 

“That was kinky,” Dan says, wriggling his eyebrows and ignoring Phil’s annoyed groan. “Anyway, we shouldn’t split up. Do you want to just die? No, we should definitely stick together, watch each other’s backs.” 

“It’ll take so much longer though,” Phil whines.

“Well lucky for us, we’ve got time,” Dan says. 

It takes hours for them to make their way through almost all of the other floors, and by the time they reach the top floor the sun has made its way to the other side of the tower, projecting their long shadows on the walls of the staircase. 

Reaching the top floor, they take a moment to catch their breath before looking over the edge of the last step. 

The dragon is right there, in the circular room that takes up the entire top floor of the tower. It’s beautiful. Its body is different shades of blue - cobalt, azure, sapphire, all rippling in the light like water. The wings are blue mixed in with black. It’s also incredibly massive, and little puffs of smoke and sometimes fire are coming out of its nostrils as it snores slightly in its sleep, curled up around a small stone pillar. 

On top of this pillar is the crown, its red jewel still bright in a silver encasing. 

“Fuck,” Dan whispers as they quickly crouch to hide. “Fuck, shit, fucking christ, I did not fucking ask for this.” 

“Dan!” Phil whispers back as he grabs Dan’s wrist and drags him away. 

Once back outside, Dan’s swearing gets both louder and more colourful and creative. 

“Dan, we knew about this. We knew we had to go and face a dragon.” 

“Oh, sure, well, excuse me then! Excuse me for freaking out about our inevitable deaths within the next, oh, five minutes! Excuse me for not being terribly excited about this entire situation!” Dan is almost shouting now. 

“Can I help you?” a voice cuts in. It’s a deep voice, rumbling in a way that cuts right through your bones. It doesn’t sound quite human. 

Dan and Phil turn around to see where the voice came from. 

The dragon is right there, looking at them expectantly. Its tail is swishing back and forth languidly. Dan has no idea how a massive dragon snuck up on them so quietly, though he supposes he might have to learn to be more quiet himself at some point. 

“Hi,” Dan says eventually as Phil does a half-hearted wave at the dragon. “We were just passing by, and we saw your lovely tower here and just thought we would, uh.” 

He glances at Phil nervously, hoping Phil would take the hint and help him out, but Phil is too busy staring at the dragon to notice. “We thought we’d take a quick look! We do love some..good...architecture?” Dan finishes lamely. 

The dragon makes a sound that sounds suspiciously close to laughing. 

“Do not attempt to fool me, humans,” it says. “I know you want the crown.” 

Dan glances at Phil again as he slowly starts to panic. 

“Well then!” the dragon exclaims as it rears itself up to his full height. Dan steps back without even realizing it, completely forgetting the sword on his belt. 

The dragon lands on all four feet again with an impressive booming sound, and starts walking towards them as it spreads its wings. Dan thinks he’s about to faint. 

Then the dragon sits down with a little huff that sends a small pillar of smoke up into the air.

“Let’s talk,” it says. 

\--- 

A couple of hours later, Dan finds himself cooking on a fire started by the dragon, whose name, apparently, is Norman. 

Phil is off to the side, still talking to Norman. Turns out they actually get on pretty well with each other, once Phil got past the ‘I’m actually talking to a dragon’ thing which, admittedly, didn’t take him all that long. 

They laugh about something, Phil’s higher pitched giggle mixing with a deep and ancient rumble. Dan can see Phil’s tongue poking out between his teeth even from this distance. He feels his heart do a funny little flip at the sight. 

He’s poking at the vegetable stew bubbling away happily on the fire when Phil plops himself down next to Dan. Phil rubs his tummy while he sniffs the smells coming from the stew appreciatively. 

“Dan! This smells so good. Is it almost done yet?”

“Yes. How’d the discussion go?” Dan asks while making a vague gesture with his hands for Phil to grab him something. 

“Great, actually!” Phil says, grabbing two bowls and spoons and handing them over to Dan. “Erm, I do need to discuss something with you before we can continue, though.” 

Dan hands a full bowl of stew over to Phil, who licks his lips as he carefully puts it on his lap. 

“What is it?” Dan says, filling the next bowl. 

“So, uh. Turns out, Norman is actually pretty bored here. He likes the crown, but he’d also appreciate having some different things to do every day.” 

“Okay?” Dan says, unsure of where this is going. Knowing Phil, it could be literally anything. 

“So I was thinking, right. What if you hire Norman as castle staff.” 

The spoon on its way to Dan’s mouth stops in mid-air as Dan processes what Phil just said. 

“Wait a second,” he says, putting the spoon back in the bowl. “You want me to hire a dragon? To do what, exactly? Terrify my people?” 

“To protect them. Or actually, to protect the crown jewels. Although I think having a dragon around the castle would automatically protect the people of the kingdom, too.” 

“What’s in it for him?” 

“He’d like to be allowed to be free to roam every now and then. Go fly, or swim. Apparently he loves swimming. I did tell him the castle is close to a big lake, and that there are forests. And I also told him we’d come hang out with him regularly. Both of us. I think you two will like each other, too. After all, I like both of you and I’m a great judge of character.” He quickly shoves a spoonful of still-hot stew in his mouth. 

Dan rolls his eyes as Phil’s starts to water and he coughs a little, but really Dan can barely hide his fondness. 

That makes his mood drop immediately, so he decides to stop thinking about Phil and the butterflies in his stomach every time he looks at Phil or even thinks so much as his name, and instead thinks about this proposal. 

It’d take some smooth talking, that’s for sure. He’ll have to send letters ahead, make sure the people - and the King - know Norman is coming with them and that he’s a part of their kingdom now. It won’t be easy, and that’s a good thing. Bringing a lethal creature with a mind of its own not just into the kingdom but into the royal palace shouldn’t be an easy thing. 

But that’s assuming that both Dan and Norman agree with this proposal to begin with. Besides, where would Norman even stay? How would they make sure Norman is safe, too? And can they actually trust him, or is this all a ruse, just a trick to get close to the royal family and their jewels? After all, they only met Norman a couple of hours ago. What do they even really know about him besides that he’s been here to guard the lost crown for a while?

“I need time,” Dan says, hoping that’s enough to convey all his worries. Phil nods in understanding, and they eat the rest of their stew in comfortable silence as they watch the sun set behind the lake. 

\---

The next morning, Dan wakes up to the first sun rays finding their way into the room, chasing away the cold from the night. 

Phil is next to him, an arm casually slung over Dan’s waist in his sleep. They’ve ended up having to share the only bed they could find, and Dan decided to use these opportunities to make memories he never could’ve made back in the castle. He knows he can’t have any of this closeness, this casualness, once they’re back and they both have their duties and roles to fulfill. 

Phil blinks as he starts to wake up. Dan can see the moment Phil realizes what position they’re actually in, and he can feel his body tense up in expectation of Phil immediately leaving. 

Instead, Phil sighs happily and cuddles closer to Dan as he closes his eyes again. 

Dan very carefully puts his hand over Phil’s as he forces himself to relax. 

The next thing he knows, the sun is higher in the sky and the room has warmed up properly now. Phil has somehow managed to slip out of bed without waking Dan up, and Dan can hear him talking to Norman outside. The smell of cooking wafts into the room, making Dan’s stomach rumble. 

By the time he stumbles outside, breakfast is ready, and Phil is already plating up for himself while Norman is munching on some fish at the edge of the lake. 

“Good morning!” Phil says cheerily. “How’d you sleep?” 

“Really good, actually. And you?” 

“Me too! I made you breakfast,” Phil says, handing Dan a plate with some leftover stew and scrambled eggs. 

“So, did you think about my suggestions?” Phil says when Dan is almost done with his breakfast. 

“I did. Phil, what do we really know of Norman? Do you think we can trust him? Because giving him such an important job is a lot of responsibility both on his and my shoulders, considering we only met him yesterday.” 

Phil looks disappointedly at his plate.

“Maybe,” Dan starts, unsure of where he’s going with this. “Maybe we should stay here for a little bit, get to know him. Give it a week’s time, you know?” 

It helps. Phil cheers up considerably.

And so they stay at the tower for another week. If Dan really stopped to think about it, he’d have to admit just how domestic they were being. 

They cooked together most days. They washed their clothes in the lake. They took walks around the area. They slept in the same bed every night, often cuddling in their sleep, but never discussing it. 

They also talked a lot to Norman. They learned he got the crown from a traveler years ago, and didn’t know where the crown came from but that he liked how shiny it looked. He’d been living in the tower to recover from an arrow that hit his wing, when the traveler suddenly came running in and asked him to look after the crown and he’d come back to pick it up soon. He never did, and the crown’s been here since. Norman’s gotten quite a liking to it in the meantime, and he’s not very willing to part with it. 

Phil seems to trust Norman implicitly, and Dan trusts Phil which means he trusts Norman, too. 

After a week, and after an increasing amount of hopeful stares from Phil, Dan decides to ask Norman if he wants to join them for a while on their travels. He’s not making any promises about potentially working at the castle for them, because there’s other people involved he needs to discuss this with first.

Still, Norman seems incredibly excited to be asked, and immediately says yes. 

And if Dan had any doubts lingering, they (mostly) disappear when he sees Phil’s eyes light up just before he’s enveloped in a crushing hug. 

\---

If you’d asked Dan five years ago where he thought he would be now, he’d have said something along the lines of “probably still in this bloody castle”, “I don’t even know what I’m having for lunch today” or “we’re all dying anyway so why should I think about this. Now please bugger off, I need to destroy my little brother in this practice fight”. 

What Dan-of-five-years-ago would never have expected, was that he would actually find himself on the back of a dragon, while clinging on for dear life to the waist of his servant, who he actually may or may not be in love with. 

Norman flies through the morning mists hanging over the lake, and Dan is incredibly tempted to try and touch the smoke as it spirals around them. Then they burst upwards. He sees the morning sun rising over the mountains in the east as the wind rushes past them. 

He feels Phil’s sharp intake of breath as Norman levels out and they can really take a proper look down. These lands are beautiful. The mountains look like softly rolling hills at this height. He can see the tower, and the glistening of the lake’s tower next to it. He can see the river connected to the lake, and how it reaches an endless expanse of blue in the far distance. 

It’s strange. He should be scared. But instead he feels a sense of calm wash over him. Everything looks so peaceful from up here. Norman feels solid beneath him, and Phil is warm and comforting in front of him. 

They fly around for a little while, before turning back to the tower. They have to go and gather their stuff, and prepare for the trip to Prince James’ castle. 

Norman has agreed to let them bring the crown and stay hidden for a bit, until Dan can explain the situation to James and send letters ahead to his father. 

And just like that, their little respite is over and they’re back on the road. 

\--- 

It takes two more weeks on horseback to reach James’ castle. It’s a smaller one than Dan’s, though no less impressive for it. The walls are white, making it stand out above the brown houses and green forest. It has multiple towers, with bright red flags fluttering in the wind on top of them. 

Prince James himself is waiting for them in the courtyard when they arrive. He spreads his arms in welcome. 

“Prince Daniel! Come in, come in. Your father informed me of your quest, and told me to be expecting you. You are of course welcome to stay for as long as you like,” he says, coming towards Dan as servants surround him to help him get off his horse and take his belongings to his rooms. Dan can see him do a quick double take, eyes flitting between him and Phil, though he’s glad to see James shrugs it off quickly and keeps his face friendly. 

“Hiya, James,” Dan says, launching into a very complicated looking handshake that involves fist bumps, finger wiggling, and a surprising amount of squealing. 

“Not going to lie, Dan. It’s incredibly weird to know it’s you in this different body. I keep being tempted to address your servant.” 

Dan laughs a little bit too loudly. “I know right! I’ve gotten used to it after all these weeks on the road, but honestly, I hope it’s over soon now that we’ve arrived here.” 

“Yeah, I can understand. But let’s not dawdle outside! Come in, you must both be hungry. I have some business to attend to, but you two can start dinner and I will join you as soon as I can.” 

\---

A grandiose meal is quickly set out in front of them: roasted vegetables, freshly baked bread, meat pies, soups, warm apple sauce, plates of fresh fruit. Although they know this is standard fare in a castle, Dan and Phil have been on the road for so long, eating whatever they happened to have or found, this is a veritable feast to them right now. 

Dan moans when he takes his first bite of the roasted honey-glazed parsnip, closing his eyes as he leans back in his chair. 

“Are you actually crying?” Phil says, laughing a little as he takes a bite from the freshly-baked bread while already reaching for the meatballs. Dan just nods as he wipes away the tears threatening to leave his eyes. 

“Do you need a moment?” 

“I’m alright, just—okay, yes, give me a moment.” 

Just then the doors open and Prince James comes walking in. He smiles at both of them as he sits down. 

“Enjoying the food, boys?” 

Dan moans again in response. 

“I think Dan is incapable of speech right now,” Phil laughs. 

“Still the same as he always has been then,” James adds. “So! Tell me about your adventures! How’s the quest been?” 

“We found your crown,” Dan says, finally sitting properly and focusing on his surroundings again. 

James actually looks surprised by this news. “Wait, you really did? Where is it, then?” 

“Yes. But, before we can give it to you, there’s something else we need to discuss.” 

“Am I going to like this?” 

“Probably not,” Dan shrugs. “You know how the legend said there was a dragon guarding the crown? Well, the legends were true. And um, the dragon still has it, at this moment.” 

James frowns. “And you’re telling me you faced this dragon and actually made it out alive?” 

Dan slaps at his arm. “Thanks for the show of faith in our capabilities. And yes, we faced this dragon and made it through. Even better - or worse, depending on your perspective - we brought the dragon here.” 

There’s a loud clanging noise as James drops his fork on the floor. 

“You what?!” 

\---

“Well, that went well, didn’t it,” Phil says later that night, throwing Dan’s dirty tunic in a corner before digging through their bags in the hopes of magically finding a clean one. 

They’d explained the whole situation to James, who in response had buried his face in his hands before saying they’d ride out to Norman tomorrow. 

“I don’t want to think about it right now, Phil,” Dan says, leaning back with his eyes closed in his steaming hot bath. Phil had added some lavender essence to it, making the whole room smell like lavender. 

“You know what I wonder though,” Phil continues, pausing with an almost-decently clean tunic in his hands. “Why we haven’t changed back yet.” 

Dan opens his eyes and turns his head towards Phil at this. 

“I mean. We finished the quest, didn’t we? We found the crown and returned it to Prince James’ family. Wasn’t that all we were supposed to do?” 

Dan’s shrug doesn’t hide the sadness apparent on his face. “I don’t know, Phil. Maybe we missed something. Or maybe we were too late.” 

“Hm,” Phil just says, still staring at the tunic he’s holding. It’s softer than his own, and where it used to just smell of Dan, it now smells like both of them. 

Dan watches Phil from his bath. He can see the anxiety written all over his body, from the tenseness of his jaw and how straight he’s holding his back, down to how all his movements are a little bit shaky. 

Truth is, he’s been worried about the same thing. It should be over by now, right? Phil is right. They finished the quest, they found the crown and returned it. Should they really have defeated the dragon? But he likes Norman, and besides, it’s not like they ever would’ve stood a chance against him to begin with. 

He decides to ignore it and just relax for now. If there’s anything he’s always been good at, it’s putting things off until later. 

“Phil, why don’t you just join me in this bath.” 

“Dan, that would be incredibly improper. And what if someone walks in?” 

“Oh, get over yourself. You’re literally in my body and we just spent weeks on the road together. Get in, this tub is massive and you need to relax. And no one will walk in, unless they don’t know proper royal etiquette. Trust me, you’re the only one in this castle who doesn’t know how to behave around royalty.” He only just manages not to add ‘it’s why I like you’. 

Phil softly, quietly, puts away the tunic he was still holding. Tentatively, he starts taking off his own clothing. 

“I hope you know this feels weird,” he says shakily. 

“You’re making it weird. Just get in already.” 

Phil does. He sighs deeply when he lowers himself into the hot water, as if he’s been holding his breath for weeks and can now finally release it. Dan can already see it working - Phil’s muscles are relaxing and his jaw is unclenching. 

And if their legs keep knocking into each other in the water, well. That’s surely just because they’re both very tall. Dan is not going to look too much into it. Nor is he going to think too much about how Phil blushes every time their knees touch, or about how Phil is not really meeting his eyes properly while they chat about nothing.

\--- 

A couple of weeks later, they’re at dinner with Prince James when the prince finally snaps. He’s been pretty good about keeping his patience, but he’s been wondering if the real reason Dan and Phil have been sent out on a quest was actually just to get them out of the castle and give everyone else a rest. 

“Dear god please save our souls,” James whispers as he looks up to the ceiling. “Save me from these two bumbling idiots.” 

“Do you need us to leave you alone?” Phil asks, before being elbowed in the stomach by Dan.

“You can’t talk to a prince like that!” 

“What! I do it all the time with you.” 

“Yes, but that’s different.” 

“Why is-” 

“SHUT. UP.” Prince James roars as he stands up, slamming his hands on the table. “Alright, listen. Since apparently no one else has the guts to tell you and they instead just send you off on a quest, I guess I’ll be the one to tell you: I like you, you’re both wonderful people, but please, for the love of god and the sanity of everyone in this castle, please go and make out or something, get some of that sexual tension out of the way.” 

Both Dan and Phil stare at him while he catches his breath. 

“Oh, no, we’re not -” Dan starts while Phil is looking decidedly uncomfortable. But Prince James interrupts him. 

“Guards! Please escort our guests to their chambers. Make sure they both go into the same room, and then don’t let them out until I say so.” 

Dan gasps. “You can’t just keep us captive! This is an act of war, and rest assured my father will hear of this!” 

Prince James pinches his forehead. “Yes, your father will indeed hear of this. I will send him a message immediately, assuring you are in good hands, that you are safe, and that this is for the good of both our kingdoms. I know him well, and fully expect to get gift baskets instead of war. Now, guards, please get them away from me, I’m getting a migraine.” 

Dan and Phil are quiet as they walk back to their chambers. 

The sound of the door’s heavy sliding lock being shut from the outside rings ominous in the silence of the room. 

Dan is rubbing his own arms and pacing while Phil stands awkwardly to the side, looking at everything except Dan. 

It’s quiet for several minutes, the silence only broken by Dan pacing back and forth. 

“Dan.” Phil says quietly. “Dan, please.” 

“What, Phil?” Dan says as he stops, looking at Phil. He’s standing across the room, in front of the window. “What could you possibly want me to say right now, besides sorry for everything. Sorry that I dragged you into this mess. Sorry that you’re stuck with me. Sorry that my father somehow got it in his head to make you my servant without asking either of us what we want. Sorry that everyone seems to expect us to do something, to be something that I know you clearly don’t want, just because of me. Just because I’m a - a -” 

He doesn’t finish the sentence. Instead he picks up a vase filled with a beautiful bouquet of freshly picked flowers and throws it across the room where it shatters against a wall, leaving a mess of water and flowers and shards. Phil can feel his own heart breaking along with it. 

Dan drops to his knees, burying his face in his hands as his shoulders wrack with sobs. 

“Phil, I’m so sorry,” he says, his voice muffled behind his hands. “I tried so hard, I really tried.” 

Phil walks carefully over to Dan, and sits down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“Dan, please, look at me.” 

Dan shakes his head as he curls even more in on himself. 

“I can’t do this anymore, Phil. I can’t keep pretending.” 

“You don’t have to pretend when you’re with me, Dan.” 

“No, you don’t get it. I do.” Dan looks up at Phil, his eyes rimmed with red and streaks of tears running down his face. “I’m not normal, alright. I can’t live a normal life, not without also living a lie. And I can’t ever stop pretending, or I’ll lose everything and everyone.” 

“Dan, please, tell me what’s going on. What could there possibly be that’s so important you’d have to hide it even from me?” 

Dan looks at him. Phil can see the battle in Dan’s mind happening behind his eyes. He sees it turn into resolve, mixed with sadness and anxiety, before Dan puts his hands on Phil’s cheeks, cradling his face so softly, gently. 

“Please don’t hate me,” Dan whispers before pressing his mouth to Phil’s. 

Phil freezes, unsure of what is happening for a moment, until he feels Dan pulling away from him. He wraps his arms around Dan, pulling him closer as he presses his lips against Dan’s. 

Suddenly, gold and blue sparks swirl around them, filling the room as if the night sky has surrounded them. There’s a pull in their stomachs. But they’re too caught up in each other to notice any of it happening. 

Outside the window, a red bird flies away to start on a long journey to another kingdom. 

\---

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dan shouts as he grabs the back of a chair, shaking it back and forth. “Was that all it took? Just one fucking kiss? Then why on earth did we have to go on this bloody quest?” 

They’ve just come back from Prince James’ kingdom, having flown there on Norman’s back. They’d decided to stay there for another two weeks, to recover from their journey and make the proper arrangements for their trip back home, but also to enjoy having some time and space to themselves in a place where most people outside the castle don’t know who they are. 

Their horses are being brought back by Prince James himself, who is using this as an excuse to come visit their kingdom, ostensibly to keep up the good relations for a prosperous future between both kingdoms. But everyone knows about Prince James’ interest in the King’s beloved ward, Morgan. 

Agnes glances at the King for a moment, who just nods solemnly. 

“Basically,” she says as she smoothes her skirts calmly. “We were just looking for an excuse to simultaneously get you two to get over yourselves and finally make out, and to also get you out of the castle so we could have some peace and quiet for a little bit.” 

“Excuse me,” Dan stands up, finally letting go of the chair so he can raise a hand in question. “What do you mean when you say ‘we’?” 

Agnes glances at the King again, who now finally speaks up. 

“Because this was my wish, too.” 

Dan stares at him, his expression unreadable, before he turns around and strides out of the throne room without another word, with Phil struggling to keep up with him. 

The massive doors slam shut, and the throne room is left behind in silence, as if everyone is just holding their breath for something that is yet to come. His Royal Highness the King is counting softly as he gazes calmly at the doors. 

That something announces itself by sudden shouting in the hallway followed by the doors being pushed open again to reveal Dan storming right back in. 

He stops in front of the throne, arms crossed and one foot tapping on the floor. 

“Explain yourself,” Dan says to the King. 

“You can not address your king like that,” the King says. 

“Then first act like one and explain why you sent us on a dangerous quest for no reason.” 

“We had our reasons.” 

“No _ good _ reasons.” Dan feels Phil coming to his side. It’s a brave thing to do as a servant, to stand right next to your prince as he challenges the King. A good servant would have stood somewhere at the side. Then again, Phil is much more than a servant to him now, and Dan thinks he’s standing exactly in the right place. 

“You could’ve gotten us killed,” Dan continues. “Or maimed, or disfigured, or otherwise unfit to become king.” 

“Daniel, stop,” the King says. “You know it’s tradition for a prince to go on a quest. This is normal. Besides, you were protected in more ways than you think. Agnes has kept close to you, to keep an eye on you and make sure you were never in actual mortal danger.” 

“You sent a chaperone and didn’t even tell me? You don’t trust that I can keep myself alive, so you have to send someone with us secretly?” 

“Daniel, stop twisting my words. I did this because while I wanted to adhere to tradition, and you are the crown prince, you are also still my son and I care for you. I’ve never seen you as happy as I have done since Phil joined us. I did not want to see you get hurt, and I wanted to see you sort out your feelings for Phil. And if that means adapting some conventions or finding creative ways of dealing with the situation, then so be it. If you can’t appreciate that, I will indeed question just how fit you are for the throne.” 

The King continues before Dan can say anything. “Think about this, Daniel. Please take some time to settle, you’ve been on a long journey, both physically and emotionally. You need rest, and time to process these experiences. I will give you two weeks, then we will talk about this again. Understood?” 

There is nothing Dan can do about this now, so he nods and says “yes, sir,” before turning around to leave the throne room once more. 

“Oh, and Daniel, just one more thing,” the King says suddenly. “Please tell the dragon he is hired.”

\---

A year later, Dan finds himself on a boat on a lake, with Phil. They brought a picnic basket for themselves, and a large basket of snacks for Norman. 

Norman has settled well into life at the castle. He loves getting to stare at all the “shiny trinkets” he’s hired to protect, and he gets paid handsomely in shiny coins and plenty of shrimp. The people of the kingdom have learned not to fear him, but not to cross him either. 

The few people who have tried to get to the jewels - or to Dan and Phil, for that matter - have suffered terrible consequences. 

Phil, too, has settled into his new life as the - unofficial - Prince’s Consort. He is technically fired as servant, but they both figured that wouldn’t matter much, considering they actually get to spend even more time together now, except now slightly more as equals. 

Dan knows they can never get married. They can never let the people of the kingdom know about them, about their happiness or about how well their hands fit together or how much Dan loves being the one to get to see Phil’s blue eyes every morning when he wakes up. 

Dan knows he might have to give up the throne. He’s not sure Adrian would appreciate having to be king instead, especially as that would mean having to spend a lot of time sitting indoors instead of running around outside. He doesn’t know how to fix that, either. 

Heck, he might even just abolish the entire royal family and install some kind of governing system that’s entirely chosen and represented by the people of the country. That sounds much better to him. 

He doesn’t know what the future might bring. There will always be trouble, situations in the kingdom that need figuring out. He knows he will always have bad days, days where he can’t get out of bed, where the world seems gray and life seems meaningless. Phil will always have an edge of anxiety to him. 

He also knows that whatever comes their way, they will face it together. Dan and Phil, together against the world. 

He knows that right now, in this moment, as the sun shines and the sky is a bright blue and the small boat he’s on with Phil slowly goes in circles as it follows whatever stream it just caught in the water of the lake, and he gets to watch as Phil almost falls into the water because he’s watching Norman swim beneath them, he’s the happiest he’s ever been. 

**Author's Note:**

> -Come say hi to me on [Tumblr!](https://throwing-roses-into-the-abyss.tumblr.com)
> 
> -Wilddeoren are from the BBC TV show Merlin, which is one of my favourite shows of all time as you might be able to tell by the general tone of this fic. In the show, prince Arthur really does describe the wilddeoren as ‘giant baby rats’. [Here’s a clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx7_X0G920I)
> 
> -Speaking of Merlin, I’m sure there’s something about a tower and a crown and a quest in one episode, but honestly I don’t remember much of that beyond Gwaine and Arthur basically fighting over Merlin and everyone probably Almost Dying like at least 15 times. 
> 
> -Honestly basically this entire fic is very much inspired by Merlin and you should all watch it and bask in the glory that is the stupidity of Arthur and Merlin.


End file.
